ZOE Begone! is a fab hand-drawn fusion of bullet hell with a run and gun

Inspired by drawn-on-film animation of the 1930s, ZOE Begone! masterfully blends together a bullet hell with a run and gun shooter and you need to check it out.

It certainly looks, feels and sounds the part too. The design of it is quite brilliant. Simple, but makes great use of a few screen effects, along with the film roll idea to really make it looks a bit like a retro animation reel and it really is charming to see in action.

Quite a challenge as well thanks to the controls, the design of the enemies and the health / energy system. You can run along the floor and shoot in 5 directions, or fly around but then only be able to shoot left or right. You'll be mixing between the modes constantly to avoid enemies and you really do have to pay attention to what's coming your way.

Especially tricky when enemies come flying at you and you're running on the ground, as those 5 limited firing directions will often miss, so you'll be running and flying and then swapping back again constantly. It's always keeping you on your toes. The animator will also appear at times during a level with their brush, to draw on a squiggly line where various enemies spawn along and that can get a little frantic to deal with and has been the cause of quite a few failures in my run.

You also have dash and pound abilities. Dash allows you to smash through multiple enemies at the same time, which is often needed when they're stacked together and in your way. While pound is needed to grab extra energy for your dash and ammo for when your weapon is powered up, as well as grabbing more health. There's various orbs along the bottom of the screen which you pound into for your energy or health, which then does a fun background change where it paints a different colour - some sweet art design there.

Each level is also just like a rolling film, it keeps going and loops back on itself so you can really just keep on running and gunning until all the enemies are defeated.

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As you destroy all the different types of enemies, you'll also get drops of apples, which can be used in a shop that appears to enable some upgrades. These can be a more powerful gun, homing shots, a spreading shot and more.

Works perfectly on Desktop Linux PCs with Proton and it's great on the Steam Deck too.

If you usually enjoy twin-stick shooters this is one you don't want to miss. A great example of a game doing a lot with a little, really enjoyable to sink some time into and smash through it.

From the press release:

"ZOE Begone! is all about embracing imperfection - every jitter of ink, every ragged edge, every chaotic bullet," stated Graeme Hawkins, Retchy Games. "I hope players lean into that messiness, because for me, that’s where the magic lives."

"At PM Studios, we love championing creators who dare to be different; Graeme’s vision for ZOE Begone! is exactly that," says Ami Blaire, CMO, PM Studios. "It’s a perfect reminder of why indies matter, and we’re honored to launch it with Retchy Games."

Game Highlights:

• Striking Hand-Drawn Visuals: Fully hand-drawn animations inspired by the animations of Norman McLaren and the golden age of arcade shooters.
• Enemy Chain Scoring System: Keep the action going with high-risk, high-reward chain combos, rewarding aggressive yet strategic gameplay.
  Global Leaderboards: Compete with players around the globe (as well as yourself) to bag the highest score possible.
• Dynamic Upgrades: Choose between spending your Apples to gain new power-ups, weapons and abilities, or save them for game-altering updates later in a run - the choice is yours.
• Multiple Modes: Switch between classic arcade runs, time-based challenges, and a high-octane boss rush; tackle the action however you want, and learn to master your favourite playstyle.
• Multilayered Difficulty & Combat: Fly or fight on foot across Easy, Normal, and Hard difficulties—each with unique scoring potential and enemy patterns.
• Resource-Based Combat System: Manage your Energy to fly, dash, and pound through enemies—or trade it for short-lived, powerful weapons.